Suicide bombers attack peaceful province in Afghan north

PANJSHIR, Afghanistan, May 29 (Reuters) - Taliban suicidebombers, some dressed as police, killed a policeman in a rareattack on a governor's compound in Afghanistan's fiercelyanti-Taliban Panjshir valley on Wednesday, a stark indication oftheir broadening reach.

The attack was the first of its kind in the Panjshir sinceOctober 2001. The Panjshir was an important rallying area foranti-Taliban forces that toppled the Islamist group's governmentlater that year.

Two attackers blew themselves up at the entrance of thefortified compound in the pre-dawn assault, which was followedby a 30-minute gun battle during which another three militantswere shot dead, Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said.

A sixth escaped from the compound and reached a nearbyvillage. He detonated the explosives-packed vest he was wearingwhen Afghan police found him there several hours later.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibilityfor the attack on behalf of the militants.

A Reuters reporter who saw the bodies of the attackers nearthe governor's compound said they were dressed in Afghan policeuniforms. Smoke could be seen rising from scorched windows inthe compound and bullet holes in the walls.

One Afghan National Police (ANP) officer was killed andanother wounded. The provincial governor and police chief werein the compound but escaped unhurt.

Sediqqi praised the quick response by Afghan security forcesto put down the attack, but the assault in one of the fewremaining strongholds against the insurgency could still send analarming sign of the Taliban's reach at a critical time.

NATO-led forces in Afghanistan are accelerating the transferof security responsibility to Afghan soldiers and police beforemost foreign combat troops leave by the end of next year, withquestions often raised about the readiness of Afghan forces.

Picturesque Panjshir, famous for its jagged cliffs and deepvalleys, was one of the first parts of the country consideredsafe enough for the NATO-led coalition to hand control to theirAfghan counterparts two years ago.

The assault also came five days after Taliban militantslaunched a large, coordinated attack on a compound used by theUnited Nations' International Organisation for Migration (IOM)in the capital Kabul, sparking a five-hour battle.

Taliban insurgents have stepped up their attacks againstAfghan and foreign targets since they announced their "springoffensive" last month.